VERMONT

Vermont weather updates: As snow stops, Vermont sees dangerously low wind chill

Free Press Staff

This story will be updated as the weather develops in Vermont.

Just as the snow taper off Sunday afternoon, Vermont and the northern Adirondacks plunged into a wind chill warning.

The weather service issued on Sunday afternoon the warning, which takes place from 6 p.m. Sunday through 1 p.m. Monday. The wind chill was predicted to bring temperatures down to 25-35 below zero.

More:Nine tips for staying safe in Vermont's extreme cold

The drop in temperatures came in the wake a winter storm, christened Harper by meteorologists at The Weather Channel, that dumped about 9-16 inches of snow the Green Mountain State. The National Weather Service on Saturday afternoon bumped up the lower end of its snow total predictions from Friday's prediction of 8-24 inches.

The heaviest snowfall for Vermont was expected between midnight and 7 a.m. Sunday, weather service meteorologist Jessica Neiles said Friday. Southern Vermont was expected to see the largest snow totals.

Snow was expected to fall at the rated of 1-2 inches per hour through Sunday morning, reducing visibility to under a 1/2 mile at times, according to the weather service's Saturday afternoon update. Southern Vermont was also predicted to see sleet mixed in with the snowfall. The weather service warned that blowing snow would make travel across the state difficult on Sunday.

WATCH LIVE:Snow piling up in downtown Burlington, Mad River Valley and ski resorts

Road conditions may have been a factor in a number of Sunday car crashes. Vermont 242 on the back side of Jay Peak was shut down for about an hour when a car got stuck in a snow bank and 47 other cars were unable to climb the hill to the resort. The road reopened briefly after it was plowed, but Vermont State Police were back on the scene at 11:15 a.m. after two tour buses tried to drive up the mountain. One of the tour buses ended across both lanes, causing another hour and a half closure.

7 a.m. Monday-Wind chill continues to drive dangerous temps

Temperatures in across the state were predicted by the weather service to remain throughout Monday in the negative 20s and teens, with wind chill factored. Newport showed on the National Weather Service's hourly forecasts the lowest predicted wind chill temperature for the day at -28 degrees.

6 a.m. Monday-Negative temperatures across the state

The weather service reported the following temperatures:

Bennington, -7 degrees
Burlington, -6 degrees
Highgate, -8 degrees
Lyndonville, -8 degrees
Middlebury, -6 degrees
Montpelier, -9 degrees
Morrisville, -9 degrees
Mount Mansfield, -22 degrees
Newport, -8 degrees
Rutland, -6 degrees
Springfield, -3 degrees
St. Johnsbury, -6 degrees

7:32 p.m. Sunday-Sudbury ranks first for highest reported snow total

The weather service releases an updated list of snow total and thanked the people for their response in reporting snowfall.

Here are the reported totals:

Enosburg Falls, 16 inches (5:15 p.m.)
Essex Center, 14.4 inches (5:29 p.m.)
Ferrisburg, 17 inches (4:47 p.m.)
Hartland, 13.2 inches (5:25 p.m.)
Milton, 14.2 inches (4:56 p.m.)
Newark, 15 inches (6:30 p.m.)
Norwich, 13.6 inches (6:49 p.m.)
Pittsford, 15 inches (5:15 p.m.)
South Burlington, 12.9 inches (5:20 p.m.)
Sudbury, 18 inches (5:06 p.m.)
Swanton, 12.1 inches (6:31 p.m.)
Tunbridge, 18 inches (5:23 p.m.)
Underhill, 11.8 inches (7:27 p.m.)
Waterbury Center, 13 inches (7:17 p.m.)

2:40 p.m. Sunday-Weather service posts snow totals

The weather service listed snow measurements across the state that were both taken by their own staff as well as volunteered by the public. While these are not final measures, they give an ideas of how different parts of the state have fared.

Barre, 13.5 inches (12:05 p.m.)
Burlington, 11.9 inches (11 a.m.)
Essex Center, 13.4 inches (1:45 p.m.)
Greensboro, 13.2 inches (12:35 p.m.)
Hartland, 11.1 inches (11:40 a.m.)
Jericho, 11 inches (12:30 p.m.)
Middlebury, 14.2 inches (noon)
Milton, 12 inches (1:21 p.m.)
Morrisville, 15.5 inches (2:15 p.m.)
South Burlington 12.1 inches (1 p.m.)
St. Albans, 9.5 inches (11:35 a.m.)
Underhill, 11.3 inches (1:31 p.m.)
Worchester, 14.8 inches (1 p.m.)

1:52 p.m. Sunday-Pizza delivery proves 'gnarly' in South Burlington

Kristopher Hunt of Graniteville has been delivering Domino’s pizza in the snowstorm since 10:30 a.m. Even with the benefit of good tires and four-wheel drive, he says during a break between deliveries, the roads are “pretty gnarly.”

Kristopher Hunt, of Graniteville, speaks during a pizza delivery shift Sunday afternoon, Jan. 20, 2019, at Domino’s in South Burlington. “I wore gaiters today in preparation of climbing through snowbanks,” Hunt said, “which has happened.”

Many people have not cleared their driveways, but there’s no stopping a determined pizza delivery man. Hunt wore snow gaiters to work, so he’s been prepared to climb through snowbanks to carry his orders to the door.

As Hunt speaks, the phone rings in the South Burlington restaurant. Another employee tells the customer that they’ve stopped accepting delivery orders until the storm lets up.

The Domino’s Pizza on Farrell Street in South Burlington remains open during the storm Sunday afternoon, Jan. 20, 2019.

12:30 p.m. Sunday-Skiers take over the street in Burlington

12:30 p.m. Sunday-Grab your shovel and get going!

12:09 p.m. Sunday-Still snowing in Middlebury

Town streets are still largely empty as the snow keeps falling into the early afternoon. At Middlebury College, most students seem to have holed up indoors. College facilities workers, on the other hand, are out braving the elements as they clear walkways across the expansive campus.

Staff member Nick Boise, busy operating a snowblower outside a college dining hall, said his crew may need to stay outside until the snow stops falling.

“It sucks, but someone’s got to do it,” he said.

A buried bicycle sits outside Mead Chapel on the Middlebury College campus on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 20, 2019.

Noon Sunday-Highgate overtakes Burlington for lowest temp

Burlington had taken top spot at 6 a.m. for the lowest temperature, according to the weather service's report. But Highgate, which had ranked No. 2, took the lead as the morning turned to afternoon. Here's how Vermont cities and towns rank:

Highgate, 1 degree
Burlington, 2 degrees
Middlebury, 3 degrees
Rutland, 3 degrees
Newport, 6 degrees
Montpelier, 10 degrees
Lyndonville, 11 degrees
Morrisville, 11 degrees
Bennington, 12 degrees
Springfield, 16 degrees
St. Johnsbury, 17 degrees

10:30 a.m. Sunday-Even more digging — this time in South Burlington

9:52 a.m. Sunday-Some Burlingtonians prepared

9:30 a.m. Sunday-More folks getting stuck in Burlington

8:30 a.m. Sunday-Burlington tries plow out as snow falls

Ryan Dodelin navigates Church Street in downtown Burlington, Vermont, on the morning of Jan. 20, 2019.

Plows were working the downtown streets of Burlington as temperatures still hovered in the negatives.

Two people were spotted skiing down Main Street toward Lake Champlain as a Free Press editor attempted to shovel out the car she "nannies" for CarShare Vermont, a nonprofit that strives to reduce car usage and improve mobility.

The shoveling out hit a snag when trying to pull the car out of the parking lot, where it had been stationed during the overnight parking ban. Thanks to a good Samaritan in pursuit of his towed car, the car was eventually pushed out onto the street.

7:30 a.m. Sunday-Snow report from Shelburne

Shelburne saw about 10 inches of light fluffy snow and some deeper drifts. The snow is still coming down and a few cars and trucks braved the freshly plowed Shelburne Community School neighborhood.

A ruler measures 10 inches of snow in Shelburne, Vermont, on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. The dump was part of the storm named by The Weather Channel as Winter Storm Harper.

7:30 a.m. Sunday-Skiers rejoice in Vermont.

Stephanie Bronsther of Essex Junction, Vermont, is all smiles as she waits for a friend on the morning of Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. Both planned to head to Sugarbush ski resort as Winter Storm Harper bore down on Vermont, dumping a forecast foot or more of snow in some areas.

7:15 a.m. Sunday-Road Report from Jericho. Cold actually might help traction today.

7 a.m. Sunday-Where have the plows been?

If you need to leave the house, you can take a look at the Vermont Agency of Transportation plow map to see what roads have been cleared in your area. The live map showed plows at work across the state. REMINDER: Avoid crowding the plow trucks. Give em' some space.

6:45 a.m Sunday-How much did it snow in your backyard?

The weather service posted a tweet asking for your help in reporting snowfall totals.

How can you report your backyard total? Just tweet back @NWSBurlington. If Twitter is not your thing, you can report via the weather service's Facebook page or their website.

6 a.m. Sunday-Wicked cold in parts of Vermont

The weather service clocked in the following temperatures:

Burlington, -3 degrees
Highgate, -2 degrees
Middlebury, -2 degrees
Newport, 0 degrees
Morrisville, 6 degrees
Montpelier, 7 degrees
Lyndonville, 10 degrees
St. Johnsbury, 12 degrees
Springfield, 14 degrees
Rutland, 16 degrees
Bennington, 24 degrees

6 p.m. Saturday- Parking ban in effect Saturday and Sunday for Burlington

People parked on the street in Burlington need to move their cars off the street from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. on both Saturday and Sunday. The ban hours for those parked in the downtown core of the city are midnight to 6 a.m. Any vehicles remaining on the street during the parking ban may be issued a $125.00 parking ticket by Burlington Police Parking Enforcement and towed to another location.

The following city-owned garages offer this free parking:

Marketplace Garage (47 S. Winooski: entrances on Cherry St & Bank St)
College St Garage (60 College St: entrances on College St and Battery St)
Lakeview Garage (41 Cherry St: entrance on Cherry St)